Background: Dental health of children with special needs, mental retardation is more in need than children in general. Children with special needs have various limitations that exist on them, such as not being able to clean their own cavities, so they need the help of parents and teachers to guide them. Children who are basically easily bored or bored, the situation to overcome this problem is the required media or a method in the form of a tell show do model in the form of learning videos, understanding the content of the material so that changes in brushing behavior are obtained. Objective: to present the tell show do model as a learning medium to improve the brushing skills of mentally retarded children. Methods: Research and Development (R&D) and the trial model used a quasi-experimental method (pre and post test with control group design). Sampling using the Lemeshow formula obtained 17 samples of children per group based on the inclusion criteria. The intervention group to measure the knowledge, attitudes, actions of parents and teachers, action index and debris was then given education using the tell show do model for 10 days. The control group to measure the knowledge, attitudes, actions of teachers and parents, action index and children's debris was then given education using flipchart media and dental phantoms. Result: Tell show do is feasible as a medium for learning about brushing teeth (p=0.000). This implementation model is effective in increasing the knowledge of teachers and parents (p = 0.021), attitudes of teachers and parents (p = 0.019), and teeth brushing skills of teachers and parents (p = 0.025). The ability to brush the teeth of mentally retarded children (p = 0.000) and reduce the debris index of mentally retarded children (p = 0.040) compared to the control group. Conclusion: Tell Show Do is effective as a learning medium to improve brushing skills in mentally retarded children.

Keywords : Tell Show Do; Mentally Retarded Child; Tooth Brushing Skills.